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Monday, January 8, 2018

Day #4 - Jan 7th 2018: Volcano hike

Greetings everyone! I am starting this blog post at 10PM on Sunday January 7th, 2018, the end of our 4th day on the trip. I may or may not get to post it tonight, depending on the Internet situation (which is very sketchy at best!).

Today was quite a day! Several students woke up early to catch the 6AM sunrise (fun fact: being on the equator, the sun rises and sets here at 6 every day). We gathered for a nice American-style buffet breakfast. By 8AM, we met with our guide Marlon who stepped us through the day. He urged us to pack light, bring a raincoat, and bring at least 3 bottles of water.

The bus drove us part way up the island's main volcano Sierra Negra. After we parked, we found ourselves in a cloud forest, with a fairly thick and cool fog surrounding us.


Our guide led us on the hike. We started on a fairly smooth pathway of crushed volcanic rock.


We hiked for about 2 hours, mostly uphill. We soon rose above the fog. Everyone put away their raincoats as we walked toward the rim of the volcano.


We stopped to rest and have snacks at a lookout point. The view was impressive. We stood on the edge of the cauldera (a crater made from a collapsed volcano) that is about 9 miles by 11 miles. We could see where the lava had escaped from a fissure and spread across to form the large, black, uneven lava fields:






This was a truly magnificent site! From there, we continued to hike upward and along the rim until we reached a picnic area. There we stopped for a light lunch (or, really, elevensies). Our guide Marlon explained that we would now enter the vigorous portion of the hike, approximately 2 miles each way across lava fields. Nearly everyone chose to go, with a few folks bowing out due to nagging physical issues.

The portion of the hike was quite different. We found ourselves in a moonscape of colorful jagged rocks arranged in large mounds, with lava tubes and collapsed basins. The occasional cactus dotted the otherwise barren landscape:



As we continued along the trail toward the peak, the landscape became increasingly barren. But colors started to emerge: deep purple, crimson, rust orange, and the occasional white and yellow streaks. Gazing around reminded me of a driveway oil slick: mostly black, but with seemingly random swirls of deep color.



After about 5 miles in total, we reached the peak of the dormant volcano. The 360 panorama offered views of all 6 of the island's volcanoes. The landscape was highly varied in color, texture, and shape.



Each individual rock seemed to have a story to tell, one of a fiery and recent birth:


We were only able to admire the view for about 5 minutes before it was time to begin our return journey. We trudged back across the uneven landscape, making each footfall with care to avoid twisting an angle or scraping against a sharp outcropping. We reunited with those who stayed at the rest area and completed out 10 mile hike. Many of us were sore and blistered, but everyone made the finish without complaint. Many offers of help were made: to share water, to carry a pack, to act as a handhold while emptying shoes of sand, to offer words of encouragement. The spirit of NEC and the class really came out during this walk, including that moment when several of our athletes challenged our guide to a sprint up one of the final hills (and took great pride in their victory).

Upon reaching the bus, we drove part way down the volcano to an organic fruit farm for lunch. We enjoyed the soup (creamy vegetable soup seems to be a mainstay here) and a buffet with salad, yucca fritters, potatoes, smoked chicken, and pasta. Dessert was a selection of fruit from the farm:


Afterward, we took a few minutes to enjoy the hammocks and admire the scenery before taking the bus back to our hotel. We had 10 minutes to change into snorkel gear. We visited a local lagoon for a "bonus snorkel" where we were able to observe the local marine iguanas swimming in the water, as well as numerous sea lions, fish, rays, etc.


We returned to our hotel in time to enjoy our final sunset on the island of Isabela:


We walked into town for dinner. As usual, the meal started with a creamy vegetable soup. And, delightfully, as happened the night before, they provided freshly popped popcorn as a garnish for the soup:


Is this an Isabela thing? A Galapagos thing? An Ecuador thing? A South American thing? We don't know! But we will keep you informed as the situation develops. Several people mentioned they plan to keep up the tradition upon arriving home.  :-)


And this is what they call a "milkshake" around here:


After dinner, we split into those people who were very excited to get going on a well-deserved night's sleep and those who were excited to socialize for a while. Since I was a member of the former group, I cannot comment on the latter!

Thank you for reading. All is well. Aside from sunburns, bruises, and scrapes, everyone is healthy and happy. The trip is going as well as could be hoped and we look forward to our next adventure!

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